The present invention generally relates to a robot apparatus, method of, and program for, controlling the operation thereof, and a recording medium having the program recorded therein, and more particularly to a robot apparatus which can learn an action, robot apparatus-operation controlling method and program, by which the robot apparatus is allowed to learn an action, and a recording medium having the program recorded therein.
Recently, there are available robot apparatuses designed to have an appearance like a dog, cat or the like. Some of such robot apparatus autonomously behave according to external information and their internal state. A controller or the like is used to allow such a robot apparatus to learn a desired action. For example, a so-called joystick is used as the controller.
For allowing, by the controller or the like, the robot apparatus to learn an action, the user should be practiced to some extent. Further, a quadrupedal walking robot apparatus or the like has a more complicated link mechanism of the moving part and is thus more difficult to control.
Also, if the user can teach a robot apparatus kept like an actual pet animal an action in a more realistic manner as if he or she did it to an actual pet, he will has more fun.
Accordingly, the present invention has an object to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional robot apparatuses by providing a robot apparatus which can learn an action more easily and in a more realistic manner, a method of, and a program for, controlling the operation of the robot apparatus, and a recording medium having the program recorded therein.
The above object can be attained by providing a method of controlling the operation of a robot apparatus having a moving part, the method including, according to the present invention, steps of:
learning a time-series signal generated at the moving part correspondingly to an operation of the moving part; and
controlling the moving part according to a signal generated, after the learning, at the moving part due to an external force applied to the moving part and the time-series signal learned in the learning step.
The above robot apparatus-operation controlling method allows the robot apparatus to learn an action made by the user onto the moving part, and thereafter autonomously behave recalling the action having thus been learned according to the external force applied to the moving part.
Also, the above object can be attained by providing a program for controlling the operation of a robot apparatus, the program allowing a robot apparatus according to the present invention to execute steps of:
learning a time-series signal generated at the moving part correspondingly to an operation of the moving part; and
controlling the moving part according to a signal generated, after the learning, at the moving part due to an external force applied to the moving part and the time-series signal learned in the learning step.
The above program can allow the robot apparatus to learn a time-series signal generated at the moving part correspondingly to an operation of the moving part, and control thereafter the moving part according to a signal generated at the moving part due to an external force applied to the moving part and the time-series signal learned in the learning step. Thus, the robot apparatus autonomously behaves recalling the action having thus been learned according to the external force applied to the moving part.
Also, the above object can be attained by providing a recording medium having recorded therein a program for controlling the operation of the robot apparatus having a moving part, the medium allowing according to the present invention the robot apparatus to execute steps of:
learning a time-series signal generated at the moving part correspondingly to an operation of the moving part; and
controlling the moving part according to a signal generated, after the learning, at the moving part due to an external force applied to the moving part and the time-series signal learned in the learning step.
The above program recorded in the recording medium allows the robot apparatus to learn an action made by the user onto the moving part, and thereafter autonomously behave recalling the action having thus been learned according to the external force applied to the moving part.
Also, the above object can be attained by providing a robot apparatus having a moving part, including according to the present invention:
means for learning a time-series signal generated at the moving part correspondingly to an operation of the moving part; and
controlling the moving part according to a signal generated, after the learning, at the moving part due to an external force applied to the moving part and the time-series signal learned in the learning step.
The robot apparatus constructed as above can learn an action made by the user onto the moving part and thereafter autonomously behave recalling the action having thus been learned according to the external force applied to the moving part.
These objects and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the best mode for carrying out the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.